The indie game space is full of creative and inspiring projects. Projects that spark joy. Projects that make you feel a sense of awe, or joy, or wonder…. and then there are some that are just plain unhinged. In this episode Bryan and Josh discuss two games that are very different, but equally unhinged: Arctic Eggs and CLICKOLDING.

Arctic Eggs by the Water Museum puts you in the shoes of a nameless, faceless, drone in a post apocalyptic antarctica with but one remit: cook eggs for the people. From there it… goes places….

CLICKOLDING by Strange Scaffold was originally on Josh and Bryan’s list to cover in the Halloween timeframe but instead of being scary it was more just unsettling, so they held off to find an equally oddball game to discuss in tandem. The purpose of the game is simple: The man in the corner of your hotel room wants you to click a tally counter and he wants to watch you click it. Its a surreal and sometimes upsetting experience that takes only 40 minutes or so to complete.

So sit down, have an egg, and start clicking as we talk through the deeply strange experiences of Arctic Eggs and CLICKOLDING!

Three Word Reviews:

Arctic Eggs

Bryan - End Times Vibing

Josh - A Compelling Gravity

CLICKOLDING

Bryan - Clicking Through It

Josh - A Harsh Light

There was probably no greater end of the year gaming surprise in 2024 than the release of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Clint’s skepticism about swapping out Harrison Ford for Troy Baker was only matched by Bryan’s confusion about what this game was supposed to be drawing comparisons to Dishonored and Hitman, while being developed by the studio behind Wolfenstein, Machine Games, and the producer of the last several Elder Scrolls games, Todd Howard. It turns out Baker delivered the performance of the year as Indiana Jones and the game itself turned out to be a sprawling and pitch perfect first person 3d adventure game with stealth, puzzling, and a not-insignificant amount of using improvised weaponry against fascists: Truly the most appropriate thing for Indiana Jones to be doing.

So Bryan, Josh, and Clint set off on their respective journeys to uncover the mysteries of the Great Circle. Clint’s took a long a circuitous route through all manner of optional side content, Bryan’s was a bit more on the straight and narrow, and Josh’s ended a bit prematurely. Regardless of where they ended all three of our hosts enjoyed the sites, sounds, and hi-jinks they got up to along the way. So pull up your old timey phonograph and listen in the guys discuss Indiana Jones and the Great Circle!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Museum Worthy Adventure

Josh - Scenes and Signposts

Clint - An Instant Classic

Happy New Year! This year Bryan, Josh, and Clint tried something a bit different… which every other video game podcast on earth is already doing: We recorded our Games of the Year for 2024! So listen in as the guys discuss the top 5 games they enjoyed in 2024 among others and take a look forward to 2025 and just generally chill out and reminisce on a year of gaming!

Here’s what we talked about:

Look back at 2024 / Plans for 2025

Games we have our eyes on to cover

Games you missed in 2024 and still want to play

The Top 5’s

5’s

4’s

3’s

2’s

1’s

Honrable Mentions

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The 5’s

Clint Game #5 - Stellar Blade

Josh Game #5 - DotAGE

Bryan Game #5 - Metaphor: ReFantazio

The 4’s

Clint Game #4 - Black Myth: Wukong

Josh Game #4 - Tiny Glade

Bryan Game #4 - Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

The 3’s 

Clint Game #3 - Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2

Josh Game #3 - Arco

Bryan Game #3 - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

The 2’s 

Clint Game #2 - Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Josh Game #2 - Animal Well

Bryan Game #2 - 1000xResist

The 1’s 

Clint Game #1 - Helldivers 2

Josh Game #1 - 1000xResist

Bryan Game #1 - Unicorn Overlord

Black Myth Wukong is perhaps the least ‘under the radar’ game to have ever caught Clint and Bryan by surprise. As the breakout single player offering from GameScience, a team of former Tencent employees hailing from China, Wukong is certainly a game that is entering the 3rd person action genre during a moment of particularly stringent demands for both novelty and quality. Luckily for us, Black Myth: Wukong succeeded on both counts to provide an extremely polished action game experience borrowing some mechanical flourishes from the Soul-like genre and infusing a high level of care for its source material: the 500 year old Chinese classic, Journey to the West. While neither Clint nor Bryan have much exposure to that source material aside from what has been adapted previously to suit western audiences (see Dragon Ball, etc.) both were quite impressed with the cinematic quality on display with this particular adaption. So join Clint and Bryan for a quick drink from the gourd as they chat about the experience and spectacle that is Black Myth: Wukong!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Senational Simian Storytelling

Clint - Top-notch Monkey Business

In this episode, Josh and Bryan don their pixelated sombreros and head into the Mesoamerican wilderness to check out the latest in indie tactical greatness with Arco! Boasting some snappy writing, inventive tactical gameplay, and truly gorgeous pixel artistry, Arco has a lot on offer. Arco is the product of Polish pixel artist Franek Nowotniak (one of Josh’s pixel artist idols), Australian game developer Max Cahill, Spanish composer and sound designer José Ramón "Bibiki" García, and Mexican developer Antonio "Fayer" Uribe, and published by Panic Inc. While it initially did not have the commercial success the team hoped for, it has begun to quickly rack up awards and nominations as we near the end of 2024. It can be tough to break through in today’s indie landscape, with so many high quality games coming out every week, but Arco is beyond a shadow of a doubt a game that is worth your time. From the compelling “inverse Western” story which conveys a unique perspective on the history of the colonization of the Americas, to the novel tactical mechanics which integrate player choice in a profound and intriguing way, you will not find many games that feel as tight and well integrated as Arco. So saddle up and join Bryan and Josh on their quest for revenge, er I mean, discussion as they journey through Arco!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Personal Pixelated Parables

Josh - Fresh Tactical Take

This episode Clint, Josh, and Bryan pledged their eternal service to the Emperor and suited up in some fancy new blue power armor to defend humanity in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2! While only one of us has played the series’ first entry, the Warhammer atmosphere and Saber Interactive’s tight and polished co-op gameplay pulled all three of the guys through to victory. Its rare in today’s video game release landscape to get a well-scoped and extremely high fidelity co-op campaign like Space Marine 2’s, so if you are a fan of co-op PVE, enjoy the Warhammer Universe, or just like stomping around as a giant space marine then be sure to check this one out! So suit up with Bryan, Josh, and Clint as they face down the Tyranid scourge in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Epic Cooperative Crusade

Josh - Big Boots, Filled

Clint - Gears of Warhammer

Have you ever asked yourself what quirky humor forward take on a breach and clear tactics game featuring wizards might look like? Well about 8 years ago Tom Francis of Suspicious Developments did just that, and what started as a throw away in-joke amongst colleagues is now one of the most impressive and enjoyable indie games of 2024. Bringing his signature wit in the writing and character development along with a tactics sandbox that is polished to a mirror shine Tactical Breach Wizards is a step in the right direction for everything Francis and his studio have been building towards with their previous outings. So hop on your tactical broomstick and set your assault wand to stun as Bryan and Josh flex their magical mastery with Tactical Breach Wizards!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Tom’s Tactics Triumph

Josh - Terrific, Brief, Witty

Join Josh and Bryan as they flex their design skills, mostly unsuccessfully, and still manage to create incredibly charming scenes with Townscaper and Tiny Glade. Both of these games offer a different take on the ‘city painting’ or ‘diorama design’ genre of creative game. With little to no direction, and a not insignificant helping hand extended to the player, both of these games interpret the player’s design decisions and render them into utterly gorgeous structures, landscapes, and villages. Townscaper, released in 2021, is the passion project of the developer Oskar Stålberg, who also created Bad North among other projects. It allows the player to create a tiny seaside town with just a few clicks. Tiny Glade was released in 2024 and offers the player the opportunity to create a cozy castle or village diorama set in the variety of seasons with a truly impressive camera mode with which the player can then share and experience their creation. So join Bryan and Josh, and lets get creative!

Three Word Reviews:

Townscaper

Bryan - Needs a Checklist

Josh - Building with Oomph

Tiny Glade

Bryan - Daily Creative Meditation

Josh - Cup of Tea

Show Notes:

Web version of Townscaper

Flurdeh’s Youtube Channel

Josh's Latest Game: Neongarten

Its been a while since Bryan and Josh sat down and recorded a podcast about a good old fashioned Narrative Game… enter 1000xResist, the narrative game that Bryan brought to Josh after being completely blown away by the game’s incredible economy of storytelling and deep, varied themes. Needless to say, both were enthralled with Sunset Visitor’s foray into game development and the lengthy conversation they had is testament to the deep read the game received, and deserves. At its heart 1000xResist is a walking sim about a society of clones existing in a post apocalypse an unknown number of years after an alien invasion.  The clones are all descended from a young woman who was immune to the disease that the alien Occupants brought. What makes it unique (among many things) is its attention to cinematography, captivating theming, and frequent narrative swerves. Its an incredible work of storytelling, featuring unique exploration of multiple key topics including: family, immigration, resistance, illness, oppression and more. So join Bryan and Josh in praising the ALLMOTHER that this game graced our PC’s and listen in for an in depth, spoiler-filled discussion of the experience. Hekki Almo, Hekki Grace!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Break the Cycle

Josh - Watch and Remember

Show Notes:

Devised Narratives

In this podcast Bryan and Josh dive into two minimalistic, manic roguelikes: Tiny Rogues and SNKRX! Tiny Rogues by RubyDev a fantasy rogue-lite dungeon crawler that plays in the bullet hell genre, complete with twin-stick controls. It also boasts some lite RPG elements and a cornucopia of classes to choose from. The ability to end up with a completely wild and enjoyably broken build in Tiny Rogues is extremely entertaining, and kept both Bryan and Josh coming back to see how far they could advance in the game’s meta-progression layer. Next up, with SNKRX the guys build a snake out of RPG party classes and sent them to battle against colorful pellet enemies. SNKRX is the more minimalist of the two, sporting only colorful, pill-shaped enemies on a black background for your multi-colored ‘snake’ to defeat, but the depth of build variety and enjoyable synergies to discover were enough to make this a game that was easy to return to over and over. So get ready to give it ‘one more run’ with Josh and Bryan as they talk through Tiny Rogues and SNKRX!

Three Word Reviews:

Tiny Rogues

Bryan - Bountiful Build Variety

Josh - Bite-sized Bullet Ballet

SNKRX

Bryan - Snakes Sneaking Synergies

Josh - Sneaky Snakey Snack

Show Notes:

SNKRX's post-release log - a327ex